Local Authorities

Valle d'Aosta, President Testolin disqualified. The Court: he was ineligible

Avs' appeal upheld. The assignment was not in line with the constraints on the third mandate

by Rome Editorial Staff

2 May 2026

Renzo Testolin. Aosta, 28 ottobre 2025 ANSA

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Three-term limit
Reasons for the stop
Bonelli: now new junta without current president and deputy
Union Valdôtaine convenes federal committee
Region's lawyer: wrong and surprising ruling

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Court of Aosta has declared the President of the Region, Renzo Testolin, disqualified because he is ineligible under the regional law on term limits. The magistrates thus upheld the appeal promoted by the Avs opposition councillors. The announcement was made by Avs co-spokesman Angelo Bonelli.

The three-term limit

Governor of Valle d'Aosta from 2 March 2023 and confirmed on 6 November 2025, Renzo Testolin, 57, a leading exponent of the Union valdôtaine, was the first of those elected with 3,808 personal preferences in the last regional elections. His appointment as head of an executive supported by the autonomists and Forza Italia was immediately at the centre of a querelle, political first and judicial later, over the interpretation of the regional law that sets a three-term limit for government posts. Testolin has been a member of the regional council, first as councillor and then as president, for three consecutive legislatures, in addition to being elected again in the current one.

The reasons for the stop

According to the Court of Aosta, which declared the disqualification of the President of the Region, the 'overriding criterion of literal interpretation is also diriment in the sense that the fulfilment of a third term of office is allowed only in the case where one of the two previous terms of office, the first or the second, has lasted less than two years, six months and one day, not allowing the regional legislator to hold office within the junta for four consecutive terms'.

Bonelli: now new junta without the current president and deputy

'I thank,' Bonelli said in a note, 'the Avs regional councillors for the determination and courage they have shown. This is the way we do politics: consistently, with respect for institutions, citizens and legality'.

'President Testolin and his Forza Italia - Union Valdotaine majority now fall from office and will have to form a new junta without the current president and deputy, who have been declared ineligible,' Bonelli concluded.

Union Valdôtaine convenes federal committee

"The Union Valdôtaine takes note of the decision rendered by the Civil Court of Aosta, with respect for the institutions," explained a note from the political force. "Faced with this situation, the Mouvement's president Joël Farcoz has convened the Comité fédéral in order to carry out an in-depth analysis and to take, in the shortest possible time, the decisions that are necessary in the interests of the Mouvement and the Aosta Valley."

Region's lawyer: wrong and surprising ruling

That of the Court of Aosta, which declared the president of the Region, Renzo Testolin, ineligible and disqualified, is a 'completely wrong and absolutely surprising sentence' according to lawyer Marcello Cecchetti, legal counsel for the Valle d'Aosta Region, which took legal action but was not admitted by the Court. "There is not one thing that convinces me, not even half, also because the judge did not confront the arguments on the merits that had been brought before the court. So he slavishly followed the plaintiffs' argument without confronting the arguments of the defendants or, in any case, of the defendant,' Cecchetti comments. As for the viability of a possible appeal, Cecchetti explains: 'Let's say that the legal space is a highway. After that, of course, it depends on the will of the defendant in the first place and then of the Region. From a legal point of view I still believe that the reasons we put forward were the only sustainable ones, but this is my point of view. At the moment only my point of view, the judge thinks otherwise'.